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Ziyi Yan/闫梓祎 

moving/dream

two things are unique            to a home:
writers’ block and wetting the bed. in sleep
 
my adult teeth pushed                each other
from my mouth like dominos. you held
 
me, a wrinkled fetus         with long hair–
we can laugh at that. but really, you held
 
old jeans like a plea. my stomach bulged
from the fabric         and i forgot why
 
we took turns apologizing.
 
 
whenever my sister wants to play
a board game, i say             i need
 
to write. actually             i scratch out
my hair and watch videos of celebrities
 
kissing              in the next room. i crawl
to her bed when i know she’s crawled
 
to yours. in a false dawn            you nestle
me to your stomach, so i feign deafness
 
as you open the curtains. 五分钟走, you           
snap.                in haste, i paw everything
 
out of my underwear drawer–
 
 
i never wrangled our knocker to choke
your screaming.             i was sprawled
 
on the porch, wincing at how even wood
whined       under me. the time you waste          
 
in driving me                has dribbled
down my chin, searching for taste. mom
 
we whittle this house          
to a pyre.          tonight
 
my mouth is dried raw and i’m sorry
i mocked you                for this:
 
we’ve locked our keys in the new house.
your jeans in my closet are         moving.
 
* “五分钟走” translates to, “we leave in five minutes.”

Biography

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​Ziyi Yan/闫梓祎 (she/her) is a young Chinese writer living in Connecticut. She is an alumna of the Iowa Young Writers' Studio and the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship. Her writing has been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards on a national level. She is published or forthcoming in Polyphony Lit, elementia, Breakbread Literacy Project, eunoia, Daphne Review, Paper Crane Journal, and others. She is a poetry finalist for the BreakBread Literacy Project and the winner of the Piedmont Institution Communications Contest. She is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Dawn Review. In addition to writing, she loves watching old One Direction interviews, blasting karaoke in the middle of the night, and annoying her younger sister. You can find her on Instagram @Ziyiyan___
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ISSN 2639-426X
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  • Home
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    • Issue 25
    • Issue 24
    • Issue 23
    • Issue 22
    • Issue 21
    • Issue 20
    • Issue 19
    • Issue 18
    • Serenity
    • Issue 17
    • The Audio Room
    • Issue 16
    • Issue 15
    • Issue 14
    • Play It Again
    • Issue 13
    • Issue 12
    • Issue 11
    • Issue 10
    • Issue 9
    • Issue 8
    • Issue 7
    • Issue 6
    • Hand to Mouth
    • Issue 5
    • Issue 4
    • Issue 3
    • Issue 2
    • Issue 1
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